Nationality: South Africa
Thabo Mngomezulu is the founder and CEO of Kasi Gas, a South African social enterprise that transforms organic waste into clean cooking gas and nutrient-rich fertiliser. Born and raised in Fernie, a remote village on the border with Eswatini, Thabo experienced energy poverty, water shortages and severe soil degradation from an early age. At 20 he moved to Johannesburg to pursue a career in music and spent a decade working as a professional jazz and gospel session vocalist.
When the COVID‑19 pandemic shut down the music industry in 2020, Thabo returned to his roots and began farming. There he discovered the potential of biogas to tackle multiple local crises at once: unreliable energy, waste mismanagement and declining soil health. In 2024 he launched Kasi Gas to convert organic waste from restaurants, schools and households into affordable, clean biogas for cooking and organic fertiliser for local agriculture. The enterprise creates a circular economy that turns waste into resources while lowering household fuel costs and restoring depleted soils.
Although not a natural businessperson, Thabo invested heavily in his own development, completing programmes with the Founders Institute, the Sustainability Institute, and the beVisioneers Mercedes‑Benz Fellowship, which helped fund his first prototype. His leadership and impact have been recognised by the News24 Young Mandela Awards 2025 (Climate, Literacy & Sustainability category), SANEA Youth In Energy, and as a finalist in the 2025 Global Cleantech Innovation Programme — South Africa.
Thabo’s long-term vision is to scale Kasi Gas from the Fernie flagship plant into a micro‑franchise network across rural South Africa, transferring ownership to local entrepreneurs and proving that sustainable, homegrown solutions can address Africa’s deepest challenges.